The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 999: The Nameless Book

10:00 PM

Your Excellency, Lu Li:

— Regarding the anomaly of your interest, it was caused by the shed husk of the Eye-Worm falling into the Gauss Basin, inciting the greed of the surrounding anomalies. The family and the secret cult are prepared for the confrontation. Your assistance is not required, but we thank you for your concern and eagerly await your visit.

— Hendrik Loren True Name Lince, second head of the Lince family.

...

— Investigation Results: The Gauss Basin is under an unusual siege from the surrounding anomalies. The servants and cult of the Eye-Worm have sealed off the area, making a more detailed investigation impossible. As the commission was not fully completed, only 60% of the fee will be charged.

The two replies arrived one after the other, piecing together the truth of the anomaly.

The Eye-Worm's shed husk incited the greed of the anomalies, leading them to besiege the Gauss Basin. The servants, the cult, and the Eye-Worm's clan are resisting the invasion.

Using Professor Kris's office, Lu Li recorded the investigation's results and tossed the reply into the fireplace.

The paper turned to ash in the blood-red flames."My dear, I knew you could do it," Professor Kris's lazy voice drifted from a wine glass on the table.

"I suppose you've passed the trials. The Cursed Title of Lord... that's why you came to the academy, right? You can go to Professor Alexei Hocha. He's the administrator for Cursed Titles, and with him, you can truly immerse yourself in that knowledge. However, if you want to learn how to become a Lord, I have a better candidate in mind."

"Go to the swamp hut. The living dead who crawled out of the abyss—they are the best teachers."

Another harvest awaits you there.

No more sounds came from the wine glass, and Lu Li, having received his clue, turned and left the alchemy office.

Knock, knock, knock—

The door to Professor Alexei Hocha's office swung open.

"Your Excellency, Lu Li?"

Professor Alexei Hocha, a monocle perched on the bridge of his nose, looked in surprise at the figure who had lowered his hood.

A few minutes later, after confirming that Lu Li met the prerequisites and understood his purpose, Professor Alexei Hocha came around his desk, stood on his tiptoes, and retrieved a thick, dust-covered book from a high shelf.

Whoosh!

After blowing the dust away and wiping the cover with a handkerchief, Professor Alexei Hocha placed the book before Lu Li, along with a vial of potion:

"If you experience any discomfort while reading, stop immediately. This Chaos Potion can ease the onset and severity of any adverse effects. If possible, it would be best to read it where someone can keep an eye on you."

He watched Lu Li with interest. "I knew you would advance to the senior courses, but I thought it would take at least a month. I didn't expect it to be so soon..."

"Luck."

In truth, Lu Li had been quite fortunate. Both "resolving incidents" and "investigating incidents" demanded time and effort, but the latter suited him far better than the former. Furthermore, he just so happened to have an "ally" in the Gauss Basin.

"May I read it here?" Lu Li asked.

"Of course. As you can see, no one has been here for a long time."

This wasn't because Cursed Titles were unpopular. On the contrary, they were in high demand—they offered a path that required no arduous effort, no repetition, and no risk. One only needed to possess a Cursed Title and become a Lord to instantly reach the pinnacle of human power.

A Cursed Title was like a divine artifact found by the protagonist of a fantasy novel: even if a beggar picked it up, he would instantly become a nobleman. After all, who wouldn't want to gain something without effort?

Although, people tended to ignore the fact that possessing a Cursed Title and becoming a Lord is not so simple.

The long absence of students was due to the mentorship system. Students who possessed a Cursed Title were seen as "seeds" by their mentors, and those mentors knew how to cultivate them, rather than sending them to the Cursed Title administrator to study the basics.

Furthermore, it had to do with a certain secret of Professor Alexei Hocha's.

"I am a null-descendant," Professor Alexei Hocha frankly told Lu Li.

It sounded insulting, but in truth, "null-descendants" were also envied—much like Cursed Titles. They were simultaneously blessed and cursed.

The official name for those who jokingly called themselves null-descendants was "magic-abjurant," which meant "one who renounces magic."

They naturally possessed a resistance to radiation—or rather, an immunity—which allowed many types of radiation to simply slide right off them.

But contamination is radiation, and power is also radiation.

This allowed the magic-abjurant to avoid many forms of contamination, but it also blocked them from acquiring mystical powers.

Before the founding of the Academy of Giant Trees, before Midnicht and Vinnelag rose to equal prominence, people considered this a blessing. But after humanity began to explore mystical powers, it became a curse.

Thus, "null-descendant" became a term of self-deprecation or an insult for the magic-abjurant.

Listening quietly, Lu Li opened the thick, untitled book, ready to uncover the hard-won truth.

"— A Cursed Title symbolizes one's deeds. The bearer of a Cursed Title [of the Hope type] will not be evil, at least not at a certain stage of their life. But we must not demand too much; the Cursed Title will not be revoked, and we are constantly changing. — Kori Laval."

The title page bore the saying of Kori Laval, the first known Lord of a Cursed Title.

His thirty-one points of Humanity had granted Lu Li certain traits similar to the magic-abjurant—the nameless book, which usually caused discomfort after ten to fifteen pages of continuous reading, gave Lu Li no trouble at all. Only after half an hour did he stop. And what disturbed him wasn't any discomfort, but the frequently yawning Alexei Hocha.

"Are you leaving?"

Alexei Hocha struggled to lift his eyelids, and seeing Lu Li's intent, offered a blessing: "I hope that the next time we meet, you will have become a Lord of a Cursed Title."

Returning to his quarters, Lu Li spent the entire next day reading the nameless book. By the time phantom illusions began to appear, he was already nearing the end.

The quiet night passed, and the next morning, Lu Li turned to the book's final page.

"— It seems we can trust the Cursed Title unconditionally—just as we fight for our own salvation, so too does this world."

...

Closing the book's cover, Lu Li, lost in thought, left his room and headed for the swamp zone.

A dim yellow fog swirled about.

The earth and sky were like the inside of a seashell, and the roots of the Giant Tree hung down like the ridges of its shell.

Lu Li arrived at the hut; Silver Cross Elephant and Mildred Humphrey had remained here.

Before Lu Li could begin studying the release of a Cursed Title's power, they led him to a shallow enclosure where several anomalies were wrapped in spider silk cocoons.

"My memory... I left something back in the hut. Could you bring it to me?"

Silver Cross Elephant slapped his own head in annoyance as he asked Lu Li.

Lu Li nodded and turned back toward the hut.

"Lu Li possesses several Cursed Titles, but he is too rational to summon the necessary emotion," Mildred Humphrey sighed.

The murky eyeball in Silver Cross Elephant's deep socket watched Lu Li's retreating back. "That's why we need a special method."

Under their watchful gaze, Lu Li pushed the door open.

...

An ink-stained quill was clutched in a hand, poised above the paper.

"Mr. Lu Li, is that right? Please, have a seat opposite me."

The psychologist looked up, gesturing toward the dark-haired man standing by the door.

Beyond the window lay the port, its silhouette stark against the gray, overcast sky of Port Roadster.

The smokestacks of the industrial zone had been dormant for days, but a fog still clung ominously to Belfast.